CIBC Miracle Day: Making a difference for kids in need

This year we are excited to celebrate our 40th annual CIBC Miracle Day, a charitable giving tradition founded on the belief that we can remove barriers to kids achieving their dreams.

CIBC Miracle Day, held annually on the first Wednesday of December, supports the invaluable work done by children’s charities around the world. Since starting this giving tradition in 1984, CIBC has raised more than $278 million globally, helping to transform the lives of children and communities worldwide.

This year, CIBC held its annual Miracle Day on December 4. On that special day we at the Stan Clark Financial Team donated all fees and commissions to the CIBC Children’s Foundation.

The Foundation has three areas of focus:

• help for high-needs children
• healthy, active living
• well-being and enrichment.

With its goal of improving the quality of life for children in need, the CIBC Foundation is dedicated to helping them prepare for future successes. By focusing on health, education and well-being, the Foundation provides these children with the opportunity to participate in programs that might not otherwise be accessible to them. Such enrichment opportunities are vital in supporting young people in the formative years, encouraging personal and professional growth.

The Stan Clark Financial Team is proud to be a part of CIBC Miracle Day. As we do every year, we invite you to suggest causes that are close to your heart. Last year at your suggestion, we directed funds to several charities, including:

• Athletics for Kids – A4K is homegrown and focused on local impact. It was founded 20 years ago when two friends from North Vancouver felt compelled to open up sports opportunities in their community to kids from low-income families. Today, Athletics for Kids has evolved into a grassroots organization with significant reach, as their team of two staff and a small army of volunteers ensure that kids across BC have the chance to play.
   
• Kids Help Phone - Kids Help Phone has a pioneering history of creating innovative supports for critical issues young people face. It began as a unique telephone counselling service to provide free, accessible support to any young person reaching out from coast to coast. The focus was supporting young people experiencing abuse, but almost immediately young people let the service know they needed more than one focus and more than one way to get in touch.
  Kids Help Phone now concentrates on staying relevant to youth, recognizing the complexity of issues they face, and helping to ensure professional counsellors and volunteer crisis responders are ready to address young people’s continuum of emotional and mental health needs. These needs can range from crisis situations to the everyday concerns of growing up.
   
• Stigma Free Society – The Stigma Free Society is committed to combating stigma of all kinds, with a focus on mental health. Through its Vision and Mission, the Society fosters programs that cultivate, encourage and educate diverse communities to be inclusive and compassionate by building awareness and understanding through education, support and leadership.
   
• HEROS – The Hockey Education Reaching Out Society is a volunteer-driven charity that uses the game of hockey to teach life skills to, and empower, Canada’s marginalized youth. By providing a safe and stable environment for young people to succeed, connect and learn, HEROS guides its participants to become constructive citizens within their communities.

While it only takes one person to make a difference, great things happen when the Stan Clark team, together with our clients and charitable partners, all rally around the cause of helping children in need – which is the spirit of CIBC Miracle Day.
 

We thank you in advance for your interest and support! And, as noted above, we warmly encourage you to let us know about any Canadian children’s charities you would like us to consider.